One of the biggest life decisions you will have to make as an adult is deciding which type of car you should drive, and hopefully without recalls. The hybrid car gained popularity after the Toyota Prius sedan was released in the United States in 2000. A hybrid vehicle might be the wiser and greener choice due to improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions compared to traditional gasoline cars.
However, an urgent recall for 7,483 hybrid cars was recently made. Volvo Car USA has identified a worrying problem affecting select plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Volvo’s urgent recall
Car owners with affected nameplates vary from the S60 compact executive sedan to the XC90 three-row crossover. In their cases, the high-voltage battery could short-circuit when a given vehicle is parked and its battery is fully charged. LG Energy Solution Battery of Nanjing, China, supplied the battery cells. Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate a supplier process deviation that could result in the overheating of the cells
The NHTSA states in its report, “As a result, a short circuit in the high voltage battery module can increase the risk of a fire.“
An estimated 7,483 plug-in hybrid vehicles produced for the US market feature suspect battery cells. The suspect population of plug-in hybrid Volvos lists the 2021 model year S90. It continues with the 2020 through 2022 model year S60, V60, XC60, and XC90, whereas the V90 is listed in very few examples for the 2022 model year. Volvo has thankfully not received any reports of personal injuries or worse caused by shorted batteries.
What should you do
The first report of faulty batteries indicated a thermal event while parked, which led the Swedish automaker to investigate the concern in February 2024. Volvo stated that affected vehicles were fitted with cells produced between June 3, 2019, and November 30, 2021. Cells produced after November 30, 2021, are unaffected by the process deviation.
Affected vehicles will be inspected for faulty cells. Customers affected by the faulty batteries will be fitted with replacement modules at no charge. Even if Volvo dealer technicians don’t identify suspect cells, they have been instructed to install software that monitors the battery for any signs of an impending short or thermal event. Customers should not charge their cars before receiving said remedy.
What this means for hybrid cars in the future
Volvo is recalling 585 such cars and crossovers in Canada. The automaker has also requested American and Canadian dealers to remove all courtesy plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from service if produced on the suspect dates. Although the S60 is available to configure as of this writing, production for North America sadly ended in June 2024 due to poor demand. Last month, Volvo also pulled the plug on the V60 Polestar Engineered.
However, the S90 isn’t going anywhere. Its all-electric sibling is the all-new ES90. The liftback sedan comes with 249 horsepower in rear-drive flavor, whereas the dual-motor Performance gets you 670 horsepower and 635 pound-feet (860 Newton-meters) of near-instant torque. The EX90 and EX30 feature a 400-volt architecture versus 800 volts for the ES90. Although the EX90 will soon make the switch, it’s not clear when the SEA2-based EX30 will follow suit with an 800-volt setup.
You may qualify for reimbursement if you had any related out-of-pocket expenses before this urgent recall campaign. Be on the lookout, as owner notification letters will be mailed no later than May 15, 2025. Owners may contact Volvo Car’s customer service at 1-800-458-1552. Volvo Car’s number for this recall is R10312. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171). For more information about this urgent recall, you can check the 25V-179 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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